Central
Powers:
Celebrating Alliances (1)(scroll down for the
pictures)

In a time of war,
belligerents always seek to boost civilian and soldier morale and
cooperation by emphasizing that their nation does not fight alone. Their
nation's fate, and power, are favorably enhanced because of alliance and
association with the people and leadership of other nations. The
imperative to highlight and celebrate the alliance betwen Germany and
Austria-Hungary was especially felt in Germany from the earliest days of
the war as the two Central allies were immediately and simultaneously
facing the three great empires of Russia, Great Britain and France. This
section highlights the Central Powers' celebration of such alliances in
postcards which prominently feature the royal head of state of the four
nations. In reviewing these cards, you will notice that there are two
other types of national identity symbols variously utilized.

There were three
types of images used by the Central Powers propagandists to symbolize
the wartime alliance:
1- The royal heads of state: 1.1 Germany's Kaiser (emperor) Wilhelm II (middle
aged with upswept
moustache).
1.2 Austria-Hungary's Kaiser (emperor) Franz Josef I
(old man with white side
whiskers).
1.3 Ottoman Turkey's Sultan Mehmed Rechad V (middle
aged, clean shaven
with white
moustache (later also with beard) and fez).
1.4 Bulgaria's King (czar) Ferdinand I (older man
with full beard).
2- National flags and, only for Germany and Austria, the royal coats of arms
3- Soldiers (and children dressed as soldiers) in stereotypical
uniforms (primarily
distinctive headgear):
3.1 Germany's helmet with a spike on the top (till
mid-1916)
3.2 Austria-Hungary's vertically conical hat with a
small visor
3.3 Ottoman Turkey's brimless fez
3.4 Bulgaria's flat topped field cap with wide brim

1a
- The royal heads of state - Zweibund

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"In
Treue Fest!"
Publ. E. Bieber, Berlin

"Fest
und getreu"
Publ. Meissner, Leipzig

"In
Treue fest"
Publ. unknown no. 2001

"Ein
Herz, eine Hand,
für's Vaterland!"
Publ. "Industrie" Wien

"Wir
halen fest
und treu zusammen"
Publ. NPG no. 4865

"Gott
mit uns,
mit vereinten
Kräften"
Publ. R.W. Wien no.101

"Hohenzollern-
Habsburg"
Publ.
Brüder Kohn Wien

The Central Powers
Alliance was described from the German and Austrian side as a
"Bund", an "association". From August 1 through
October 1914 the alliance as "der Zweibund" - The Association
of Two - consisting of the German and Austro-Hungarian empires.

1b
- The royal heads of state - Dreibund

In
gewitterschwerer
großer Zeit
Ein festes Band der Einigkeit.

Drei-Kaiser-Bund
Publ. S. Gabai, München

Publ.
unknown

Publ.
unknown
No. 68

"Mit
vereinten Kräften"
Publ. Brüder Kohn Wien

"Dreibund
des
Weltkrieges 1914"
Nr. 46 R.F.G.
Art by F.W. Frankel

"Im
Kampf vereint!"
Publ. Photochemie
Berlin

With the entry of
the Ottoman Empire (Turkey) on November 10, 1914, the alliance became
"der Dreibund" - The Association of Three. The Central Powers
reached what was to be their full strength on October 14, 1915 with
Bulgaria's oportunistic entry into the war against Serbia. The alliance
therefore became "der Vierbund" - The Association of Four -
which was to remain until the desintegration of late-1918 as the allies
sought armistice and peace in turn.

1c
- The royal heads of state - Vierbund

"Wir
werden nie bezwungen
so lang wir einig sind"

"Treue
Waffenbrüderschaft"
Publ. NPG no. 5370

"Viribus
Unitis"
Publ. O.K. Wien no. 4024

"Der
Vierbund 1915"
Publ. Stengel & Co. Dresden

"Vereinte
Kräfte führen
zum Ziel"
Publ. Photochemie Berlin
No. 3603

"Treue
Verbündete"
Publ. F.H. & S. Wien
No. H. 239
Art by A. Frank

"Vierbund"
card with Kaiser Karl.
(After the death of Franz Josef on November 21, 1916, he was succeeded
by his great nephew the Archduke Karl, son of Franz Josef's deceased
younger brother Karl)

While the term
"Zweibund" became obsolete early in the war, the theme of an
alliance between the germanic royal houses of Germany
(Hohenzollern) and Austria (Habsburg) was a theme that was prevalent
throughout the war. This theme of Germanic unity not only made sense to
the German populace of the two empires, but appealed strongly to the
patriotic philosophy of pan-German nationalism which was an insistent
and pervasive political and moral factor in Germany since the 1850's. A
common and very effective expression of this, were propaganda slogans
and images centering upon the "Waffenbrüder" (brothers in arms)
shared by German and Austrian soldiers.